Life After That (28 page)

"He rapped you?" Ashley stood up really mad.

"No! Sit down!" Kirstin took his wrist for him to sit. When he did, she continued, "I don't see it as he rapped me. I wasn't fighting back. I let him do that to me. I loved him, so I let him do that. But that night wasn't the only time that happened. And he was getting really weird, kind of possessive too. He couldn't see me talking to any guy that later he'd scream at me. And he wouldn't let me hang with my girl friends either. But then there was this one time that I went to the mall with my sister and there was a friend of mine there. A guy friend. We were talking while my sister was shopping for something and when we were saying our goodbyes, we hugged each other, but we were pretty good friends and we hadn't seen each other for a long time so it was a long hug. And I don't know why, Taylor was there and he saw us hugging and went to us and broke our hug. He was really disturbed, talking loud and pointing his finger at me, all mad. Making a huge scene. Then he lifted his hand and made its way to my cheek. Luckily, my friend was quick enough and grabbed Taylor's wrist before it got to my cheek. After that, right there at the mall, I broke up with him, saying I never wanted to see him again. I loved him but I couldn't let that continue. And if he tried to hit on me, he was not worth it. I'm never gonna allow a man to hit on me. Ever! Later on, I was really afraid of him because he'd show up at my house and call me on the phone. So I told my parents everything and pleaded for us to move. So we moved to a new neighborhood and I changed schools. That's when we met. After that, I stopped believing in love 'cause it had failed me twice. I never wanted to be disappointed by anyone again, so I stopped believing in love." Kirstin was being really strong. She didn't drop a tear. Jess and Taylor didn't deserve her tears.

"Wow…" Was all Ashley could say. Kirstin had a weak smile on.

"Yeah…"

"Wow… you've been through a lot more than I could've imagined."

"Yeah, well…" Kirstin played with her fingers.

"I'm sorry." Kirstin looked up at Ashley.

"You're sorry for what?"

"For getting mad at you for leaving after our prom night. If I had known about it, I would have talked to you and made it clear I didn't wanna play you. I really loved you. I wasn't gonna be like Jess and Taylor."

"It wouldn't matter. I wouldn't have believed you. Taylor said the same thing to me when I got hurt by Jess and look how he turned out to be."

"But… wow K, I really don't know what to say."

"Don't say anything Ash. It's ok. It's no one's fault but Jess' and Taylor's. I didn't blame anyone. I just got more protective. I began to build a wall around my heart. With every guy, that wall would grow taller and more fortified until eventually it became impenetrable. I wanted someone to bring the wall down, Ash, I did. But I just didn't know by then if you should be the one to bring it down." Kirstin looked at Ashley's big blue eyes and in a sweet tone continued, "But know I do." Ashley smiled and Kirstin continued knowing she could trust him "I need your help, Ash. I need you to bring that wall down."

"I'll be more than pleased to do it Kirstin." Ashley stood up, took Kirstin's hand in his. Kirstin got up and hugged Ashley tightly "I love you Kirstin." they stood there. Kirstin could trust Ashley. He wouldn't let her down. Would he?

NEW YORK CITY, NY -
Hotel
– Sunday

 It was almost 2:30 pm and the guys from O-Town were already waiting for the Mikes at the lobby. In one sofa sat Erik and Dan, in other one sat Trevor and Jacob and in another one, far from the other four guys, Kirstin and Ashley were cuddling.

"So, Mike said 8 pm, but it might take longer for us to get back. If we get here after 10, I don't think I'll go to your house then."

"Why not?" Kirstin sounded hurted.

"Oh baby, I'll be too tired. And you will be too. So if I get here after 10, we'll see each other tomorrow after all my appointments are over, ok?"

"Yeah, ok." Kirstin looked down, sad.

 "What? What K?"

"Nothing, it's just that. it's just that it sounds like you don't wanna see me anymore today." "Oh, Kirstin, come on! You know it's nothing like that. I love being with you and you know that better than anyone else. It's just that I'm still pretty tired from last night"

Ashley winked but got nothing from Kirstin "and I hadn't had the time to rest. And also, today is a pretty busy day.

Tomorrow things will be easier because I only have one TV show and that's it, then we can spend the rest of the day together."

"Ok."

Kirstin played with Ashley's fingers. He was about to say something but was interrupted by Mike Cronin, yelling from the exit door, to let the guys know the limo had arrived to pick them up. Ashley got up and so did Kirstin. They kissed, a quick kiss, and Ashley left. Kirstin stood there, just watching him go.

When the limo took off, she took a deep breath and headed to the parking lot to get her car.

. . .

Kirstin's Loft Kirstin dropped all her stuff on her couch. She glanced at her answering machine. One message. She pushed play and the voice that she heard made her smile.

"Hey KeeKee, it's Tommy here. Wassup? We haven't talked, like really talked, in a while now. I wanna know what's going on with my baby girl. So when you get back and hear this, call me and maybe I can swing by later? Call me! Love ya! Buhbye" Kirstin's smiled faded. She really hadn't been a good friend. She hadn't had a real conversation with Tom since Ashley had gotten to New York. And Kirstin really missed their talks. She missed Tom. His stupid little jokes and pranks. His advices. She really liked him, maybe even more than she should. She felt happy around him. Especially at that particular time when she had so much going on in her mind, she missed feeling happy, nothing but happy.

No worries. She picked up her cordless phone and, heading upstairs, dialed Tom's cell number.

 "Hello."

"Hey Tommy."

 "KeeKee! How is my little girl?"

 "I'm fine, how are you?" Kirstin smiled.

"I'm ok. I just really miss you, that's all."

 "Oh, me too honey. Me too. So. come on over!"

 "Really? Won't you hang with Ashley today?"

 "I just left his hotel. He's gonna be out for the rest of the day and doesn't know when he's coming back. I might not even see him anymore today."

 "Oh, I see. I'm sorry."

"Don't be. It's not your fault."

 "Yeah. so what I can do to make my baby girl feel better? Because I sure can feel you're blue."

 "Just come over. Like. now! I can really use some friendly talk right about now."

 "I'll go for sure, but I can't right now. Can we make it at 9 pm?"

 "Oh, ok. sure!" Kirstin got a bit upset. Tom didn't detect that.

"Ok, so see you at 9!"

"I'm waiting then. See ya."

"Bye"

. . .

 O-Town's Limo "Listen up everybody" Mike Morin shouted to get the guys attention "It was scheduled for us to leave Tuesday at midnight, but that's not gonna happen. I could only get tickets to Tuesday at 8 am. So tomorrow night, get your packs ready. That's it. Any doubts?" Ashley was not pleased with that news. He had less time to spend with Kirstin. But he was already planning to do something really special that would make the next day unforgettable for Kirstin. But for that, he would need this one person's help.

. . .

Kirstin's Loft The doorbell rang but Kirstin didn't bother to answer it. She knew it was Tom and she smiled at the sound of his key unlocking the door. She was heading downstairs after changing to more comfortable clothes. When Tom was closing the door behind him, Kirstin called out his name.

 "Tommy!" she ran to his encounter at the door, hugging him tightly. He held her up and said: "Hey baby! How are you?"

 "Much better now!"

she smiled a big smile at him when he put her back down.

"I'm much better now too." he smiled also.

"Come, come sit." She said taking his hand and leading him to the couch

 "You look great by the way. Where were you?"

 she asked Tom, that was wearing a black button-down shirt and khaki pants. Tom would usually wear just jeans and t-shirts, so Kirstin figured he was coming from somewhere, or else he wouldn't be dressed like that.

 "I was in an interview for this new job. I quit Dean & Delluca."

He said while both were sitting down on the couch.

"No! What happened?" Kirstin asked surprised.

 "Oh, no biggy. My supervisor was a pain in the ass, I couldn't stand him anymore, so I quit. So I was looking for a job where I could get paid more."

"Yeah. and what was the interview for? But. an interview in a Sunday?"

 "I thought it was weird too, but last night, at Luna, I got to meet one of the managers and we were talking and he said he was looking for someone to supervise the bartenders and the waiters at the VIP section, also to talk to the VIPs to know if everything was in order, you know? Stuff like that. So. I said I was interested and he asked me to go today to meet his partner."

"And. how was it?"

 "If I want it, the job is mine."

 "No way!"

 "Way."

 "But. you don't seem too excited. What's wrong?"

 "I don't know. maybe it's because I'll have to quit Inferno too and I really love that place. I have great friends there and. that's. where I met you too. So it's a special place for me." Kirstin grinned. "It's not gonna be cool to leave some of your friends there. But, the concerning me part, you can see me anytime you want. You don't need Inferno for that anymore."

"Yeah, I guess. And it's a huge step for me too. Be supervisor. And I'm gonna get so much more money."

 "See? I think it's a great opportunity for you and you should definitely take it."

 "Yeah, I guess I will." he glanced down and smiled.

"What?"

"Nothing, it's just that I... miss this."